After meeting with the NCAA for six hours on Sunday, Johnny Manziel‘s playing status is now hanging in the balance. The Heisman trophy winner likely defended himself against allegations that he received payment for autographs and it appears that Texas A&M has his back. Chancellor John Sharp recently called ESPN’s reports on Manziel into question, but the network is standing behind what they’ve said.

For now, it’s business as usual for A&M. Athletic director Eric Hyman released a statement saying, “the focus of our coaches and student-athletes is solely on preparing for Rice this Saturday, and in the best interests of Texas A&M and the 100-plus student-athletes on the team, I have instructed Coach Sumlin, his staff and our student-athletes to refrain from commenting on or answering questions regarding the status of our starting quarterback, Johnny Manziel.”

The school has had the right approach to this situation the whole time. They’ve kept Johnny Football quiet, while keeping the focus on week one against Rice. That’s really all A&M could do. They’ve had to assume that their star quarterback will be eligible and ready to go. I’ve maintained all along that unless Manziel and his assistant Nate Fitch were really dumb, that the NCAA would have no smoking gun to convict the Heisman trophy winner of wrong doing. We’ll find out Wednesday if that’s the case, as the NCAA is expected to announce its decision on the QB’s status.

Ohio State shocked the world as they claimed yet another college football title last year. There are many storylines to follow this year, but here are five early predictions for the Buckeyes in 2015. Read More